


The chains around me are finally breaking

by Toomanyfandoms99



Series: (No Longer A) Secret Marriage [22]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Secret Marriage, Soul Bond, Wayward Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 18:14:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15225090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toomanyfandoms99/pseuds/Toomanyfandoms99
Summary: “Something’s different about you.”Gabriel eyed Sam, turning his attention away from the movie.“A good different,” Sam clarified.Gabriel seemed to know what he was talking about immediately.  He paused the television and said casually, “Loki’s gone.”





	The chains around me are finally breaking

**Author's Note:**

> The title was taken from the song “Revival” by Selena Gomez. This one is a bit more Gabriel-centric. Enjoy!

It wasn’t every day that a cat snuck inside the bunker when Castiel was coming back from a mission. 

And it wasn’t every day that a fearsome and ever-vigilant angel didn’t notice the cat until after dinner.

Castiel heard a barely audible meowing sound as the table was being cleared and furrowed his eyebrows. He glanced under the table, seeing a pair of bright eyes peering up at him in the darkness. “Huh.”

Everyone looked at Cas curiously. Cas slipped out of his chair soundlessly and slowly, kneeling down a foot away from the table.

Cas held out a hand, his voice soft. “Come on.”

After a few hesitant seconds, the cat moved forward, stepping slowly out of the shadows and into the light. No one made a sound as a small gray-haired cat with startling blue eyes took hesitant steps towards Castiel, its tail swishing back and forth like a metronome. The cat approached Cas’s hand, sniffing it carefully, then pressed its little head against Cas’s fingers. The cat meowed softly, Cas brushing his fingers over the cat’s fur lightly. 

Jack appeared soundlessly next to Castiel, kneeling down and observing the cat with wide eyes. He said quietly, “she’s pretty.”

As if hearing the compliment, the cat withdrew from Cas’s hand and sat across from Jack, its tail swishing on the floor as she stared at the nephilim with boundless curiosity.

Jack held out a hand, mimicking Cas, the cat allowing Jack to pet her. Jack caressed its fur carefully, the nephilim smiling as he did so.

Cas looked up, registering Dean’s soft expression, and said, “this is one stealthy cat if it got past me.”

There were a few chuckles.

Cas, knowing that members of the bunker clan were allergic to pets, said, “I’ll bring her to a shelter in the morning.”

“Make it the best shelter in Kansas,” Charlie said. “That cat is too good and pure for this world.”

Cas smiled, glancing over at Jack playing with the cat. “You got it.”

————

Dean wasn’t one for pets.

But that night, when he found his husband reading on the library couch, the cat curled up in his lap, Dean couldn’t help but feel warm and fuzzy inside. It was amazing to him how Cas could immediately put a scared little cat at ease and have it practically eating out of the palm of his hand.

Dean sat next to Cas on the couch, the cat peering up at him. Dean held out a hand, — his cat allergy wasn’t as bad as it used it be — the cat sniffing his fingers and lying back on Cas’s lap, accepting his presence.

Dean chuckled. “You’re a very judgmental cat, huh? Cas is amazing, I know.”

Dean caught Cas rolling his eyes and cupped his husband’s cheek, easing him into a hello kiss. Dean heard a meow of protest, pulling away and chuckling. Cas instantly scratched the back of the cat’s ears, causing her to purr.

“She needs constant attention,” Cas observed. The cat pawed at the air, making Cas bark out a laugh. 

“He was mine first,” Dean said jokingly to the cat. “Give him back.”

“It’s only for one night. Then, you’ll have me back, okay?”

Dean mock pouted. “Fine. Is she sleeping in our bed with us?”

“If you consider how clingy this cat is, then probably. I’ll cast a spell to help with your allergies.

Dean exhaled through his nose. “You’re so sweet. This cat is lucky she reminds me of you.”

Cas rolled his eyes again.

————

As expected, the gray-haired and blue-eyed cat curled up between them both, its head facing Cas and its tail swishing along Dean’s stomach.

Dean just sighed and closed his eyes.

————

“Say goodbye to the cat, everyone,” Cas said, the cat following him to his tan truck.

“Bye, cat!”

————

As promised, Castiel dropped the cat off at the best pet shelter in Kansas.

————

“Something’s different about you.”

Gabriel eyed Sam, turning his attention away from the movie.

“A good different,” Sam clarified.

Gabriel seemed to know what he was talking about immediately. He paused the television and said casually, “Loki’s gone.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “As in...dead?”

“The projection dimension mission was his last hurrah.”

Sam was freaked out over how casual Gabriel was being about this. “You’ve essentially killed a part of yourself. Why aren’t you making a big deal out of this?”

Gabriel’s irises turned a soft caramel color. “I’ve found that...I don’t need him anymore. I haven’t for a while now.” His expression grew soft. “I’m turning over a new leaf.”

Sam blinked. “No more tricks?”

“No more tricks. But don’t worry,” Gabriel smiled hesitantly, “I’m still me. I promise.”

Sam took Gabriel’s hand and squeezed. “I don’t know what to say...did you do this for me or for you?”

“For myself,” Gabriel replied, “but I still thought of you when I made this decision.” He swallowed thickly. “I’m sick of gimmicks. I’m sick of wearing masks. I just want to be me. And I trust you enough to show you everything. Well,” Gabriel blushed, “I more than trust you. I love you. But you get it.”

Sam wanted to cry. “I love you too. The real you. I’m glad that you’re getting some confidence to be yourself. From what you’ve shown me, that Gabe is pretty amazing. I understand that you’re still prone to...thought spirals,” Gabriel nodded at the correct phrase for his depressive episodes, “and that everything won’t be magically fixed, but I hope that you can let some more people in and let them see the real you.”

Gabriel asked softly, “even if it’s messy?”

Sam pushed some hair behind Gabriel’s ear, an excuse to cup his cheek. “If it’s super messy, you can count on me to be there. I can handle it.”

Gabriel placed his hand over Sam’s. “That goes both ways, you know. I feel like I’m the only one in this relationship that’s messed up. You can tell me about more than just your nightmares.”

Sam nodded and said truthfully, “these past few years, I’ve really felt better. That’s why I decided that I was ready to be with you.”

“My offer still stands.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

Gabriel took a breath, holding onto Sam’s hand like a lifeline. “Are you okay with...all these changes going on with me?”

“Of course. Anything that makes you more comfortable, I’m comfortable with too.”

A spark reached Gabriel’s eyes. “Speaking of things that I’m comfortable with…”

Sam rolled his eyes.

“I meant a kiss, Sam. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

They both chuckled, leaning forward at the same time for a kiss. Sam intensified it, keeping it up until his lungs demanded air. 

When he pulled away, Sam took pride in Gabriel’s reddened cheeks and parted lips. Gabriel looked up at Sam through his eyelashes, which never failed to make Sam’s heart pound. He said breathily, “I meant a quick kiss, but that was good too.”

“Get used to it.”

Flustered, Gabriel murmured, “okay.”

And that, Sam thought, was progress.

————

Sam should have known that going outside the bunker would result in a portal opening. But oh, he was glad he was there to witness it. And his brother too.

Sam was pretty sure him and Dean wore the same flabbergasted expression when Cas and Gabriel appeared.

Wearing pilot jumpsuits. On motorcycles.

Sam caught Dean blinking rapidly. “What the fuck am I seeing right now?”

“A beautiful mirage,” Sam said, unable to tear his eyes away from Gabriel, who had perfect aim while driving a motorcycle with one hand.

Dean looked over at Sam with his eyebrows furrowed. He chose not to comment, going back to ogling Cas, who was driving circles around their adversaries, trapping them.

“Everyone’s missing quite a show,” Dean mused.

“Their loss,” Sam said absentmindedly.

Dean hummed in agreement, Gabriel entering Cas’s ring and taking a perfectly timed shot. One enemy went down, their motorcycle colliding with the other three. Gabriel banished the defeated creatures, as well as the motorcycles.

Both standing, Gabriel and Cas called someone, most likely Balthazar. The brothers spoke into the phone for a moment, the Winchesters observing from afar.

“We could go over there,” Sam suggested.

Dean hummed again, clearly distracted by Cas.

Sam decided to be bold and try something. He said nonchalantly, “Gabe does this thing where he looks up at me through his eyelashes, and it’s simultaneously the sweetest and sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Mhm,” Dean hummed, not listening to him.

Sam tried it one more time. “If that jumpsuit looks as gorgeous on Gabe up close as I think it does, I’m going to enjoy taking it off him when I get him alone.”

“That’s nice, Sammy,” Dean said, still not listening.

Sam stifled a laugh.

He suddenly realized that Gabriel and Cas were off the phone and had seen them. Dean and Sam did little waves, the two angels walking over to them.

And fuck, Sam couldn’t even compute. 

The closer Gabriel got, the more Sam realized that his jumpsuit should not be worn in public. The army green fabric hugged his body in all the right places, particularly along his hips. Gabriel’s aviator sunglasses framed his face perfectly, his smile bright as he muttered something to Cas.

As the two angels approached the Winchesters, Sam cleared his throat and shut his inappropriate thoughts away. “Hi Gabe.”

The look in Gabriel’s eyes told Sam that his casual greeting betrayed him. Sam kept his cool outwardly, saying hello to Cas before he and Dean began their usual eye fucking contest.

“Hey Sam,” Gabriel played along. “How was your day?”

“Chill. How was your mission?”

Sam kicked himself. What grown man said “chill”?

“It went well,” Gabriel replied.

And oh, Gabriel knew what Sam was thinking about. Sam was trying really hard not to look at the jumpsuit, how it clung to Gabriel’s shoulders and arms and chest and sides and thighs and-

“I have some time to hang out here, if you want.”

And okay, this was happening. This was totally happening now, and Sam was freaking out internally. Keeping his tone even, Sam said, “okay.”

————

Dean was seriously going to faint one of these days. He had seen Cas wearing just about everything on all of these elaborate missions, but this was a whole new level of scandalous. 

Whatever Sam was telling him right now could wait. It was hard to take his eyes off of Cas when he was in the general vicinity. It was a balancing act, their time together and their time apart. And Dean would do anything for an extra second with Cas, even if that includes staring at him from afar like a pining teenager.

Cas’s beauty really should be illegal.

So should that jumpsuit.

Cas walked towards him, observing him with a knowing glint, halting an arm’s length away.

No matter how many times Dean wanted to make love to Cas, it would never be enough. Not when Cas looked at him like that.

“Hey,” Dean said, already breathless. Cas removed the aviator sunglasses Dean bought him. Cas’s ocean eyes studied him calmly, the angel batting his eyelashes to adjust to the sunlight.

It was almost catlike.

The bond set them both on fire. Cas’s mouth quirked upwards. “I know, Dean.”

Dean swallowed. Of course Cas knew what he was thinking about. They were practically the same person at this point. 

Dean sent a mental message: “You get more and more beautiful every day, darlin’.”

Cas rolled his eyes and sent: “Again, I know, Dean. So do you.”

Dean blushed, realizing they had been staring at each other without speaking verbally for a moment, and they probably looked weird. Dean glanced over, and saw that Sam and Gabriel were in their own little world.

Both Winchester brothers were totally gone for their angels. Dean took this knowledge and accepted it as law.

————

“I should get you another pair of sunglasses.”

Castiel turned to his side in bed, observing Dean toying with his aviator sunglasses.

“What kind?” Cas prompted, wondering why in the world they were talking about sunglasses after making passionate love to one another.

Sensing this, Dean smiled timidly, a movement normally reserved for Cas.

Perhaps Dean was right. They had become a single person over the past few years, almost interchangeable. They mimicked each other’s motions without realizing it. Castiel didn’t know where he ended and Dean began.

And that was wonderful.

“Maybe the regular kind, without any flashy colors.”

Oh, right. Sunglasses.

Cas asked teasingly, “you would be opposed to, say, neon pink sunglasses?”

Dean chuckled at the thought. “Whatever you want, darlin’.”

“Whatever I want?”

Dean grabbed Cas’s jawline softly. “Of course.”

Because it was what Castiel wanted, he kissed Dean soundly.

————

“Gabe?”

A deep exhale, Gabriel turning to his side, the sheets falling to his waist. “Mhm?”

“What does my soul look like?”

Gabriel blushed an embarrassing shade of red. “It’s...when we first met, your soul was dark. But now, it’s...it’s like staring into the sun.”

Sam turned to his side too, observing Gabriel curiously. “How could my soul go from dark to light?”

“Demon blood.”

Sam blinked. “Oh.”

“It’s been purged from you.” In awe, Gabriel said, “sunlight is all that I see now, when I look at you.” Gabriel pushed a strand of hair away from Sam’s eyes. “Maybe you can tell me about that sometime.”

Sam thought of long-buried memories, pushing them back instantly. He couldn’t keep doing that forever. He had already been doing it for years and years. Maybe he should confide in his other half. It was time he returned the favor. “Sometime,” Sam agreed.

Gabriel changed the subject. “Did I look like as much of a douchebag as I felt in that jumpsuit?”

Sam shook his head. “You looked good.” He splayed out his hands. “Obviously, since I slept with you.”

Gabriel’s laugh was melodic, the sound of a breeze swaying wind chimes, the sound of an innocent child playing in a sandbox, the sound of an angel full of so much genuine happiness that Sam could get drunk off of it.

“Touché,” Gabriel said, leaning forward to kiss Sam. The hunter kissed him back with vigor.

When Gabriel pulled away, Sam smiled softly and said dreamily, “you have a nice laugh.”

Gabriel asked breathlessly, “yeah?”

Sam swiped his thumb over Gabriel’s bottom lip. “You’re gorgeous. I don’t tell you that enough. You should know.”

Gabriel’s breath hitched, his eyelashes fanning his cheeks. “What was it that made you want to pursue me, Sam?”

Sam instantly recalled the moment he felt something more for Gabriel. “When you were telling stories about Cas,” Sam blushed just thinking about it, thinking about Gabriel letting his guard down and telling his family about Cas in his younger years, looking incredibly calm and content, “I had never seen you so happy before. You were as bright as the sun.”

Gabriel looked up at Sam through his eyelashes. “That was a clever one, Adonis.”

————

Castiel nearly had a heart attack when he took in the image before him.

Everyone zeroed in on one of the toddler angels from Heaven sitting on the war room table.

How did she learn how to teleport at such a young age?

“Cas!” She exclaimed, making grabby hands in his direction, giggling without a care in the world.

Cas was by her in an instant, holding the child in his arms tightly. The black-haired and green-eyed girl grew silent, sensing from his aura that she had done something wrong.

Cas whispered into her hair, “don’t scare me like that, little one. Teleporting is very dangerous, do you hear me?”

“Yes,” she muttered into his chest.

Castiel took a deep breath, the spike of fear leaving his system. “Don’t do it again unless you’re given permission, do you understand?”

“Yes, Cas,” she replied, nodding her head. “I’m sorry.”

Cas calmed his heartbeat and secured his hold on her. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”

Gabriel appeared suddenly, holding a toddler girl with brown hair and whiskey eyes. “Ah, you’ve got her. Good. These two are quite the conspirators.”

Cas’s eyes widened. “Both can teleport already?”

“Guess so. Let’s get them back home.”

————

Cas was holding a child.

He was holding a child with Cas’s hair and Dean’s eyes. A combination of them both.

Dean blinked rapidly, making sure this wasn’t a mirage. His husband had a cute little girl in his arms, holding her like she was something precious.

Which she was. Life was precious, especially an angel’s life.

Dean watched Cas murmur to the child, who nodded her head and clung to him tightly.

Dean knew that he could never raise a child with his husband. When Cas had mentioned that there were babies in Heaven, he pushed it to the back of his mind. Such thoughts were dangerous. But he couldn’t help it. Dean had never yearned for a child until he married Cas.

It was heartbreaking to Dean how his hunter lifestyle no longer made him feel content. He wanted more. He had confessed his feelings to Cas, and still wanted more. He had kept up a secret relationship with Cas, and still wanted more. He had married Cas, and still wanted more.

But it could never be.

Dean let the image of Cas holding a child burn into his retinas and stored it away.

————

Sam felt a lump in his throat upon seeing Gabriel with a child resting on his hip.

The little girl had Sam’s hair and Gabriel’s eyes, a fact that the hunter couldn’t ignore.

They had only been dating for a few months, but the concept of children had crossed Sam’s mind.

But it could never be.

Sam saved the few precious seconds he saw of Gabriel holding the child into his head before his other half disappeared.

————

“There are children in Heaven?” Alex inquired over dinner later that day.

“Twelve of them,” Castiel replied.

“Are they all as cute as those two?” Jo asked.

“They’re in their cute stage, yes.”

“Why don’t you mention them?” Charlie asked.

“Their protection is very important.”

“How many angels are left?” Kevin asked.

“Less than a hundred.”

Ellen’s eyes widened. “There were thousands of you a few years ago.”

This was news to most of the people in the bunker.

“You’re part of an endangered species,” Kaia said empathetically.

Castiel blinked. He forgot that Kaia could relate. There were only a few dreamwalkers at any given time born on Earth. The two shared a meaningful look, understanding each other perfectly.

“Why haven’t you mentioned that either?” Donna asked.

“Because it’s depressing,” Cas said bluntly.

Despite the seriousness of their conversation, there were a few chuckles.

Cas chanced an imperceptible glance at Dean, who placed a comforting hand on his thigh. Cas laced his hand around Dean’s, interlocking their fingers, counting to five and withdrawing from the touch.

Sam was the only one who noticed the motion before the conversation changed topics. 

————

“I know what you’re thinking about.”

Dean sighed. The bond could be a gift and a curse, sometimes. He stared downwards, refusing to look at Cas, whose eyes were studying his face intently. He pulled the sheets tighter around him, wishing he could melt into the mattress like ice cream on hot pavement.

Cas swiped his thumb over Dean’s bottom lip, over the freckle that Cas placed there. “It’s hard, to look at those children, to raise those children, and not think of you.”

Dean felt tears prickling in his eyes. “She looked like us.”

Cas swallowed thickly. “I noticed.”

Dean inhaled sharply. “I feel so stupid. For wanting more.”

“That makes me stupid too, then.”

Wait. Cas wanted kids too? 

Dean felt a tear escape, Cas wiping it away. “I never thought I would be in this position.”

“Ditto.”

Of course. Cas was an Angel of the Lord. There was no way he could have guessed any of this would happen. And that fact, funnily enough, made Dean laugh. He laughed through his tears, feeling like a complete mess, and he probably looked red-faced and terrible and-

Cas pressed his lips to Dean’s softly, and he realized that Cas was crying too, and their tears were mingling together, and now they were both a mess, and-

“I love you,” Cas whispered. “I know that we can’t, but-”

Dean kissed Cas again, feather light. “I love you too. You’re enough.”

Cas nodded, kissing Dean one final time, tear tracks trailing down both of their faces. “You’re enough for me too. Let’s focus on us, okay? No matter how much it hurts-”

“Okay,” Dean whispered. “Okay.”

They held each other like they were in the middle of a tornado, like they couldn’t breathe without each other.

————

“She looked like you.”

Gabriel blinked at Sam from across the table on his cloud. “I thought she looked like you.”

“Your eyes,” Sam said.

“Your hair,” Gabriel countered.

At the exact same second, Sam and Gabriel laughed.

————

Gabriel was wearing a black trench coat.

Gabriel. Was. Wearing. A. Black. Trench. Coat.

Sam could not even.

Gabriel was sword fighting with a grotesque monster Sam had never seen before, yet Sam couldn’t get over the fact that the archangel was wearing a black trench coat.

Sam took a breath, examining everyone trapped outside of a shield that Gabriel had created, Cas included.

Cas, who was currently pacing with a pissed off expression on his face. Dean eventually grasped his wrist, stopping Cas in his tracks, whispering something inaudible to him. The tension left Cas’s shoulders — like a switch being flipped — as he stood next to Dean.

Sam observed the martial arts battle that was ensuing behind the shield, Gabriel a shockingly fierce and chaotic fighter. Sam had to refrain from sighing like a teenager longing for their crush across the cafeteria.

And that trench coat. Holy Chuck.

Gabriel killed the monster at that very second, the creature turning to ash before him. Gabriel retracted his sai swords, slipping them into his trench coat pockets simultaneously. He slid off the trench coat, revealing a white silk shirt and fitted black slacks.

Fuck.

Sam thought the trench coat was hot, but this was so much better.

And so much worse.

Gabriel released the shield, meeting Cas’s furious expression. He cast away the trench coat and made a ringing phone appear in his hand. He shot an I-dare-you-to-cause-a-scene look to Cas before answering the phone. “Bali.”

Cas backed down, listening in to the call.

Another thirty seconds elapsed until Gabriel hung up, Cas lighting a match and setting the monster’s ashes on fire.

No one spoke for a moment, still replaying the last few minutes in their heads. To everyone’s surprise, Cas materialized a marshmallow on a stick, holding it over the fire. The archangel folded his arms, and didn’t join in on the dark joke.

Sam had been noticing minuscule changes in Gabriel’s behavior lately. He had easily figured out that he was the only one that knew about Loki’s death.

Gabriel’s rebirth came with a whimper, not a bang.

Despite this, Sam was oddly pleased that Gabriel trusted him with the information. And he was oddly pleased that he was the only one who knew what was truly going on. The real Gabriel was revealing himself more and more with each passing day, served to Sam in spoonfuls.

Gabriel — not Loki, Gabriel — didn’t like dark humor. Noted.

————

“What was that thing?” Sam figured that was a good conversation starter as any.

He observed Gabriel lying on his favorite maroon couch, the archangel’s slacks fitted and his silk shirt hugging his torso nicely. Sam was stitching a deep cut on Gabriel’s arm that would take time to heal. Even archangels had limits.

Just as he was cutting the last of the thread, Gabriel smirked. “You don’t care about that. I could barely concentrate on fighting with you staring at me like that.”

Sam swallowed, withdrawing his touch from Gabriel’s arm. 

“You like my outfit, huh?”

Sam raked his eyes over Gabriel’s shirt, just beckoning to be unbuttoned. He decided to be honest, his eyes piercing through Gabriel’s. “I do. What are you gonna do about it?”

Gabriel’s Cheshire grin nearly blinded Sam with its brightness. “Oh, honey, I’m going to-”

The heavy metal door swung open loudly, Cas stepping into the room. Sam stood up from his crouched position, Gabriel looking at his younger brother alertly.

“All stitched up?” Cas prompted.

“Yup,” Sam said.

Gabriel smiled inwardly, delighted that he could make Sam skittish and use improper English. He stood up from the couch.

“We have to check in with Balthazar,” Cas reminded Gabriel.

“Alright.” Gabriel turned towards Sam suddenly. Sam couldn’t breathe as Gabriel whispered in his ear, “I’ll come by tonight, hm?”

Sam nodded dumbly, Gabriel stepping away and following Cas outside the room.

It took a moment for Sam to calm his heartbeat before he could leave the room.

————

“What are you so smug about?”

Sam couldn’t contain his grin as Gabriel laid next to him with a tired expression. Sam said proudly, “I got you to speak Enochian.”

Gabriel blushed an alarming shade of red. “You caught that, huh?”

“I wanna know what you said.”

Gabriel swallowed and leaned forward, his lips an inch from Sam’s ear. He proceeded to recite every dirty word and phrase Sam knew, including the Enochian translation. Gabriel withdrew with an innocent smile on his face.

Sam narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure Loki is gone?”

Gabriel released steady peals of laughter, smothering its loudness in the pillow. It took a long moment, but Gabriel sobered up. “You’re something else, Sam Winchester.”

————

“What is that?”

Gabriel eyed Dean in the war room, holding a ball of fluff. “It’s a puppy,” Gabriel answered. “I found it on a mission.”

The golden-haired puppy peered up from Gabriel’s arms, observing the bunker clan with wary interest. The wayward sisters, Charlie, and Jo aww’ed at the puppy.

“I’m going to bring him to a shelter tomorrow.”

“The best in Kansas,” Charlie said in a non-negotiable tone.

“Of course. I heard about the cat,” Gabriel said.

“Can I pet it?” Charlie asked.

“Sure.” Gabriel set the puppy on the ground, sitting crisscrossed near it. Gabriel was bombarded by Jack and the women cooing at the puppy, petting it and calling it the cutest dog in the world. He rolled his eyes at Sam. The hunter shrugged, holding back a smile.

————

To Castiel’s surprise, the puppy followed Gabriel around everywhere. 

With every movement and every footfall Gabriel made, the puppy was at his heels, panting and boundering without a care in the world.

Cas was always more fond of cats, barring Cerberus. Perhaps the cat had sensed that, and clung to him as a result. It must be the same sort of situation here.

How interesting.

————

Dean and Cas were curled up on the couch in the bunker library, talking in hushed tones.

It wasn’t often that the couple displayed such intimacy, but they decided to throw caution to the wind just this once. The reactions from the bunker residents since revealing their marriage were positive, so they had absolutely nothing to fear.

Dean and Cas suddenly heard a barrage of squeals.

Scratch that. They had their fan club to fear.

“Adorable!” Charlie exclaimed.

“Precious!” Alex remarked.

And just like that, Dean and Cas’s fan club were in their orbit, taking every available seat.

Dean sighed, tapping on the back of Cas’s hand absentmindedly. “How may we help you?”

“We!” Jo exclaimed.

Dean and Cas shared a glance.

This was going to be a long night.

————

Sam should have known the puppy would want to sleep on the bed with them.

Thankfully, Sam had experience with dogs, and actually enjoyed their company. He laid wordlessly next to Gabriel, the puppy squeezing between them. Sam patted its head, surprised at how soft the dog’s fur was. The puppy licked his hand in delight, Sam chuckling as it wagged its tail.

Gabriel, who was watching the exchange, muttered, “I didn’t know you liked dogs.”

“Of course I do. I had one for a little while.”

Sensing that Sam didn’t want to elaborate, Gabriel said, “I don’t want to give him up.”

Sam looked at Gabriel sympathetically. “Enjoy him while he’s here.”

Gabriel huffed, petting the puppy’s fur. Sam ran a hand down its ear, making the dog lick Sam’s hand again.

The couple shared a smile.

————

The next morning, Jack spent an hour showering the puppy with affection before Gabriel took it away.

The bunker was upset at the infectiously happy dog’s departure.

————

Gabriel finally had the guts to tell Castiel and Balthazar about Loki’s death.

“That’s what’s been different about you lately,” Cas mused.

“Your masks are all used up,” Balthazar commented. “What are you going to do now?”

Gabriel huffed, almost dreading the words. “I’m going to be myself.”

Cas and Balthazar gasped overdramatically.

“At last,” Balthazar said, “you have some sense to cut the shit.”

“What can I say? Love is crazy.”

Both brothers raised their eyebrows. What was meant to be a throwaway line was heard loud and clear.

“You’re really serious about Sam, aren’t you?” Balthazar asked.

Gabriel crossed his arms defensively. “So what if I am?”

“Do you love him?”

Sensing no malice or judgment in Cas’s tone, Gabriel answered, “of course.” 

Gabriel’s honesty surprised even himself. It felt unequivocally true. He loves Sam with everything he has. They had been dating less than a year, and he was completely devoted to Sam Winchester. Such a fact would have terrified the old Gabriel, but Sam deserved everything he could offer. What little Gabriel could give him was Sam’s for as long as he wanted it. 

Sam was so much more than everyone saw. He was the smartest person Gabriel knew — other than Castiel, of course. He was Herculean, the kind of man pictured on the cover of romance novels as the perfect specimen. He was considerate and unflinchingly kind and put up with Gabriel’s bullshit. Sam should receive an award for completing the latter task. And Sam was there for Gabriel when he needed him. Gabriel could go on and on about Sam, which was how he knew he was ridiculously in love.

“Is this why you killed Loki?” Balthazar asked.

“I did it for myself,” Gabriel assured them. “I was also thinking about Sam, though, because he doesn’t deserve that shit.”

“Agreed,” Cas said.

“Well,” Balthazar said, “I never thought I’d see the day when Gabe would be the same as he was when we were kids. Right, Cassie?”

“We’re proud of you,” Cas said genuinely. “And I’m glad you’re finally happy.”

Gabriel smiled, a real one.

**Author's Note:**

> The next part will be out this weekend. Kudos and comments are appreciated!


End file.
